Tehran (AFP) - An Iranian fisherman was shot and killed Saturday by the Saudi coastguard which accused him of entering Saudi waters, Iran's interior ministry said, fuelling tensions between the regional rivals."Two fishing boats were in the Persian Gulf and strayed due to high waves. The Saudi coastguard say the boats entered Saudi waters and killed one of the fishermen," Majid Aghababaie, head of border affairs at the interior ministry, said in a statement published by Iranian media.He said it was not clear if the fishing boats had strayed into Saudi waters and that Iranian authorities were trying to determine the facts."Even if the boats had entered Saudi waters, the coastguard were not authorised to open fire," Aghababaie added.Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi issued a similar statement.Iran's official IRNA news agency later quoted Aghababaie as saying one of the boats was missing."We have no news concerning one of the boats," he said.The incident comes amid increased tensions between Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and its arch rival Iran.The tensions flared after twin attacks on June 7 on the parliament and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran in which 17 people were killed.The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility.But Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has accused Saudi Arabia of involvement in the attacks.Iran's Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi has also put the blame on Riyadh."Saudi Arabia is sponsoring terrorist groups in Iran," he said on Thursday.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also pointed the finger at Saudi Arabia, during a visit to Norway this week."We have intelligence that Saudi Arabia is actively engaged in promoting terrorist groups operating on the eastern side of Iran in Baluchistan," Zarif said.The incident also comes as the Gulf faces one of its worst diplomatic crises in years.Earlier this month Saudi Arabia and several of its allies cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremist groups, including some backed by Iran. Qatar denies the allegations.Iran has urged its Gulf neighbours to engage in a dialogue to resolve their dispute.It also sent several planeloads of food to Qatar earlier this month after the Gulf countries cut off air links with Doha.Saudi Arabia also sealed its land border with Qatar, which relies heavily on imports for food and raw materials.

REUTERS/Fars News/Hamed JafarnejadThe Saudi navy has captured three members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from a boat seized last week as it approached the kingdom's offshore Marjan oilfield, the Saudi information ministry said on Monday.Relations between the two countries are at their worst in years, with each accusing the other of subverting regional security and support opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq."This was one of three vessels which were intercepted by Saudi forces. It was captured with the three men on board, the other two escaped," a statement from the ministry's center for international communications said."The three captured members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are now being questioned by Saudi authorities," it said, citing a Saudi official.The vessel, seized last Friday, was carrying explosives and intended to conduct a "terrorist act" in Saudi territorial waters, it said.An earlier report from the Saudi Press Agency said the Saudi navy had fired warning shots at the two boats that managed to escape.Iran's Tasnim news agency said on Saturday that Saudi border guards had opened fire on an Iranian fishing boat in the Gulf on Friday, killing a fisherman. It said the boat was one of two Iranian boats fishing in the Gulf that had been pushed off course by waves.Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have steadily deteriorated. On June 5, Riyadh and other Arab governments severed ties with Qatar, citing its support of Iran as a reason.Days later, suicide bombings and shootings in Tehran killed at least 17 people. Shi'ite Muslim Iran repeated accusations that Saudi Arabia funds Sunni Islamist militants, including Islamic State. Riyadh has denied involvement in the attacks.

REUTERS/Fars News/Hamed JafarnejadThe Saudi navy has captured three members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from a boat seized last week as it approached the kingdom's offshore Marjan oilfield, the Saudi information ministry said on Monday.Relations between the two countries are at their worst in years, with each accusing the other of subverting regional security and support opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq."This was one of three vessels which were intercepted by Saudi forces. It was captured with the three men on board, the other two escaped," a statement from the ministry's center for international communications said."The three captured members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are now being questioned by Saudi authorities," it said, citing a Saudi official.The vessel, seized last Friday, was carrying explosives and intended to conduct a "terrorist act" in Saudi territorial waters, it said.An earlier report from the Saudi Press Agency said the Saudi navy had fired warning shots at the two boats that managed to escape.Iran's Tasnim news agency said on Saturday that Saudi border guards had opened fire on an Iranian fishing boat in the Gulf on Friday, killing a fisherman. It said the boat was one of two Iranian boats fishing in the Gulf that had been pushed off course by waves.Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have steadily deteriorated. On June 5, Riyadh and other Arab governments severed ties with Qatar, citing its support of Iran as a reason.Days later, suicide bombings and shootings in Tehran killed at least 17 people. Shi'ite Muslim Iran repeated accusations that Saudi Arabia funds Sunni Islamist militants, including Islamic State. Riyadh has denied involvement in the attacks.

The US is repositioning aircraft in Syria after Russia threatens to target them

US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Corey HookThe U.S. military said on Monday it was repositioning its aircraft over Syria to ensure the safety of American air crews targeting Islamic State, as tensions escalate following the U.S. downing of a Syrian military jet on Sunday."As a result of recent encounters involving pro-Syrian Regime and Russian forces, we have taken prudent measures to re-position aircraft over Syria so as to continue targeting ISIS forces while ensuring the safety of our aircrew given known threats in the battlespace," said Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart, a spokesman at U.S. Air Forces Central Command.

Babadung Corner:These are relevant End Time news. As you all can see, the rhetoric is heating up. Now you can clearly see minor skirmishes between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which will soon turn into a major war. The United States and Russia are fueling the fire. Gulf State Arabs and Iran has no saying on this. Does a sheep has any saying when led to the slaughterhouse? What's good for both the U.S. and Russia is the fact that religious extremism in both Iran and Gulf States run deep to a point where they won't hesitate to use deadly force against each other.

I'll be contributing more frequently to this forum as we get near to the catastrophic event. An event that will lead to WWIII.